Try to Stop Me
by flabbergastedbaboom
Summary: A past she's trying to shake off. A wall he's relentlessly trying to break down. A school project. Lots of rain. And a penny. ... And one horrible plot description Percabeth 'regular' life AU. Hope you enjoy! Please read despite how bad the description sounds. Rated T just incase!
1. Chapter 1

**What better thing to do when I'm sick than post a new story on Fanfic?**

**General notes about this story: I have altered the ages so everyone is the same age, except for Hazel who skipped a grade. There is a combination of characters from Heroes of Olympus and Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Also, the living arrangements of a bunch of the characters are different than in the books. You'll see what I mean.**

**WARNING: This story will be filled with multiple head-cannons of mine that I will probably point out at the end of the chapters in which they lie!**

**So, anyways, I hope you enjoy this story!**

**_Percy_**

I leaned on the counter top, listening to the rain pouring down outside. The restaurant was empty, which was expected for a rainy sunday afternoon of the long weekend. Everyone was either out of town, eating dinner with their families, or getting ready for the big party that night at Jason Grace's house, except for yours truly, who was stuck working the late shift until 8:00.

Jason's parents were pretty cool about the parties, as long as their 1) house didn't get ruined, 2) they weren't home, and 3) the authorities didn't get involved.

I stared at my watch. 7:40. I was so close to freedom. I yawned loudly. There was no one around to hear me besides the cook, Mr. D, who was also the owner of the oh-so-classy "Burger Palace" The food was okay, plus it was cheaper than the big corporate fast food chains, so most of the kids my age at there.

The place wasn't too special. Classic dinner booths lined the walls, and tables and chairs took up the rest of the space. There was a small condiments bar attached to the counter, beside the extra counter seating. And everything, right down to the stripes on my uniform, was red.

"Johnson!" Mr. D called from the back. I walked over to the small window and looked into the kitchen.

"It's Jackson," I corrected for the billionth time. Names clearly weren't his strong suit.

"Can you work the late shift tomorrow too?" he asked, ignoring my correction, as always.

"Can I get a raise?" I asked.

Mr. D laughed. "Kid, the day you get a raise is the day I make wine appear out of thin air."

"This is so unfair!" I yelled dramatically, slapping my hand on the counter. "I demand compensation!"

"For what?"

"I've lost my freedom," I told him seriously. Mr. D laughed.

"No one's forcing you to stay here," he said.

"I'll quit," I threatened.

"You won't," Mr. D said, not sounding the slightest bit worried. I let out a defeated sigh. He was right. I was broke.

I crossed my arms over the counter and rested my head on them, shutting my eyes and listening to the rain as it pelted down on the roof.

The small bell that sounded whenever someone walked in went off. _Ding ding. _I sighed. Now I had the honor of dealing with whatever customer had walked in the door.

I lifted my head up. "Welcome to the Burger Palace. How can I..." I stopped short when I met the most beautiful, yet unusual eyes I had ever seen. I say unusual because of their intense, stormy grey colour. "...Help you?" She didn't seem to notice my inarticulacy.

Shining blonde curls from her ponytail spilt over her shoulder. She wasn't trying to be beautiful or anything, she just was. She was wearing a simple beige sweater and dark jeans, with a long black raincoat over top that still glistened with rain drops. She had an orange school bag slung over her shoulder. The strap was decorated with weird symbols.

"Can I get a regular chocolate milkshake, please?" she asked. I nodded and entered her order into the register, forcing myself not too stare at her.

"$3.99," I said. She handed me 5 dollars. I gave her back a 1 and searched for a penny. "Uh, there aren't any pennies in here."

"That's okay," she shrugged.

I turned to the kitchen window and yelled to the back. "Mr. D! Chocolate, shaken, not stirred!" I looked back at the girl, who had taken a seat at the counter. "It'll be ready in a couple of minutes," I told her.

"Thanks,"

"So, what's your name?" I asked. She looked at me skeptically. "For the order," I added, grinning.

"Annabeth," she answered.

"Nice name. I'm Percy," I said. Her stormy eyes studied me carefully, picking apart my every action. "So, are you at Goode?" I asked, trying to sound casual.

"Yeah," she answered.

"Same," I smiled. She nodded and looked out the window. It was almost as if she really didn't want to talk to me... oh well.

"What's your last name?" I asked, eager to learn more about her.

"Chase," she responded, not meeting my gaze.

The name set off an alarm bell in my head. Annabeth Chase. Chase. The famous new girl in the school. Known for being incredibly beautiful, yet extremely intimidating. I had never seen her around school before, so I only had everyone else's description to go off of, though none of their words came close to capturing her beauty.

God, was that _me_ talking?

"Paul, order up!" Mr. D called, setting down a drink on the windowsill, the straw poking out of the top.

"Paul's my step-dad," I yelled back to him, taking the drink and handing it to Annabeth.

"Thanks," she said. She took a sip and her eyes lit up. "This is really good," she said.

"We pride ourself on our quality food here at the Burger Palace," I said in a monotone voice, gesturing to the small sign hanging on the wall. Annabeth paused for a moment, as if making a difficult decision, then smiled.

"Are you going to the party at Jason's tonight?" I asked her. They were never invitational things or anything, more like first come first serve. If someone arrived after a certain time, Jason would normally tell them to leave. Annabeth took another sip from her drink.

"You know, you ask a lot of questions for someone who works behind the counter at a burger joint," she remarked.

"I know," I shrugged. "So, are you going?"

"I don't know. I was thinking about it, but those things are always so boring. It starts out fine. I'll be with a group of people, talking, laughing, whatever, but sooner or later they all wander off to slobber all over someone else," she said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Well, then you're obviously hanging out with the wrong people,," I pointed out. "You can come hang with me and my friends. It'll be fun. Only, like, two couples. Jason and Piper, and Hazel and Frank, but Jason has to play host, and Hazel and Frank are super awkward about it, in a cute, endearing sort of way," I said.

"Maybe. I'll think about it," she said. "I just have to figure out how I'm going to get home in this rain. My shoes aren't exactly waterproof." I peeked over the counter at her feet. She was wearing a pair of running shoes that looked like they had been dunked in a pool.

"I can give you a ride," I suggested. Annabeth looked up at me, surprised.

"Really?" she asked. I nodded. "Even though we've known each other for three minutes?" I nodded again.

"Wait, you're not a serial killer, are you?" I asked. She laughed and shook her head. "Good! I get off in fifteen, if you don't mind waiting."

"That'd be great, thanks," she said.

"Jordan!" Mr. D yelled.

"It's _Jackson_!" I exclaimed, rolling my eyes.

"I need you to sweep up out there!" he called, ignoring my correction once again.

"Fine," I groaned loudly. I pulled myself up on the counter and swung my legs over.

"And don't go over the counter!"

"I'd never dream of it!" I called back innocently, hopping over on the other side. I grabbed the broom from the supply closet beside the bathroom and dragged it lazily across the floor, sweeping up bits of wrappers, fries, drink caps, dust, and anything else that had accumulated on the floor over the course of the day.

"Stupid job," I muttered.

"Why don't you just quit?" Annabeth asked. I looked up at her, remembering I wasn't alone in the restaurant.

"Well, my parents have a very strong belief in 'taking responsibility for your own life', so lending their sixteen year old son money is not on their To-Do list," I said, leaning on the broom. "Besides, I need it for gas. My dad let me have his old car, but I have to take care of it. So, repairs, gas, license plate renewal, etcetera."

"Hey, at least you _have_ a car," she said pointedly.

"True, but at least you have me willing to drive you places," I grinned. She smiled and shook her head, taking another sip of her milkshake.

I finished sweeping the floor and looked down at my watch. 8:01. I was free at last!

"FREEDOM!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, throwing the broom back in the cupboard.

"Bye, Mr. D!" I called back into the kitchen. He gave a loud grunt in acknowledgement.

"Shall we go?" I asked Annabeth, making a wide sweeping arm gesture towards the door. She tossed her empty drink into the garbage.

"Gladly," she said. We walked outside under the small canopy that provided little shelter from the ongoing rain. I spotted my black, four door, used car. It was relatively small, but worked well enough. There was a small sticker on the bumper with a black spade and the word "Blackjack" written in curved letters on it.

"That one," I said, pointing it out to Annabeth.

We made a mad dash for the car.

**I hope you enjoyed!**


	2. Chapter 2

**So, here's a nice fast update! The response so far has already been great! Thank you!**

**_Annabeth_**

I slammed the door to Percy's car shut, throwing back my hood. Percy slid into the drivers seat and pulled his door closed.

"What's your address?" he asked.

"23 Parthenon Way," I said.

"I live on Trident Boulevard. I'm right near you," he said, starting up the car. Percy pulled out of the parking lot and drove down the street. There was a long, awkward silence. But, what are you supposed to say to a complete stranger?

Well, perhaps we weren't _complete _strangers. At least, Percy wasn't a complete stranger to me. From the minute I walked into the school, I heard his name being mentioned everywhere. Everyone in the school knew who he was. Star of the swim team, undeniably attractive, and possibly in a relationship with Rachel Elizabeth Dare, head of the art council and president of the social justice committee.

Alright, I know I sound like a stalker, but it's high school. Rumors travel faster than the entire track team put together.

About five minutes into the silent drive, Percy started humming _Under the Sea _from _The Little Mermaid_. He seemed to be completely unaware that I was still in the car. I stifled a laugh and let him continue until he was full on belting the song out in a Jamaican accent, at which point I couldn't hold it in any longer. Laughter burst out of me like confetti.

"Oh, um... yeah, I sing spontaneously sometimes," Percy blushed. I finally stopped laughing and looked out the window with an amused smile still resting on my face.

"I never would have thought that you would be such a die-hard Disney fan," I laughed.

"I wouldn't say _die-hard_..." he said.

"You knew every single word!" I argued, still laughing a bit.

"Not every-hey... how would you know if _I_ know every word? Could it be that Annabeth Chase is the real die-hard Disney fan here?" Percy asked, feigning immense shock.

"No way," Annabeth protested. Though, to be honest, she had yet to give away the Disney VCR collection she had in her basement.

Percy pulled up beside my house and parked the car. "Here we are," he said. I looked up the pathway at my house. It was a red, brick, three story building with a grey front porch. Greenery lined the short stone pathway, and a wooden owl statue sat.

"Thanks for driving me," I said, readjusting the strap of my bag on my shoulder.

"It was no problem," he shrugged. "Just, maybe if you don't tell everyone about the Disney thing... I'd never hear the end of it," he said.

"Don't worry," I assured him. "Your secret's safe with me." I unbuckled my seatbelt and zipped up my rain coat. I was just about to open the door when Percy stopped me.

"So, uh, are you going to come to the party?" he asked. I stopped. I know I had said I would think about it, but parties weren't really my scene. They always seemed so superficial and made out to be way better than they actually are. Besides, being the new kid meant getting lost in the crowds of people, something I was not a fan of. However, there was something about Percy that made me rethink not wanting to go. "It'd be fun" he said, almost singing his words.

"I don't know, Percy," I said, shrugging.

"Well, if you do decide to come, the address is 31 Olympia Drive. I'll be the devilishly handsome one surrounded by the crew of awesome psychos," he said. "I'll keep an eye out for you, just incase."

"I'll see you around," I said before jumping out of the car and running up the front path to my house. Once I was safe from the rain underneath the canopy over my front porch, I turned back to wave. He returned the gesture and drove away.

I fished my keys out of my pocket and unlocked the door. "I'm home!" I called upstairs.

"Annabeth!" a voice yelled. My face split into a wide smile as my half brother, Malcolm, came speeding down the stairs. He had blonde hair and grey eyes not unlike like my own. He jumped off the last stair and tackled me in a hug.

"How're you doing, little sis?" he asked.

"I'm sixteen, Malcolm," I said, rolling my eyes at the condescending nick-name.

"Still younger, and shorter than me!" he laughed. I rolled my eyes and accepted his hug.

"Why are you here? Aren't you a college kid now?" I asked. I peeled my rain coat off of me and hung it up in the front closet.

"Excuse me for wanting to surprise my family on the long weekend. Besides, I wanted to see the new house all furnished and such," he said.

"I'm the only one here," I said. "Mom's out of town this weekend, same with my dad," I said.

"So much for that plan. Guess I should've called ahead," Malcolm said thoughtfully. "Where're you coming from?"

"I stopped at a burger place on the way home from the library when it started raining and my shoes soaked through. I got a ride home from... a friend," I said.

"So, any plans for tonight?" he asked. I thought about Percy's offer again.

"Not sure yet. Maybe. Why?" I asked.

"Well, see, I brought something..." Malcolm said.

"What?" I asked. Malcolm smiled devilishly. He ran to the kitchen and I followed him, my curiosity growing with every second.

Malcolm reached into a large paper bag and pulled out a huge bag of popcorn, original M&Ms, and our favourite board game, Risk. We both loved planning out how to beat one another. When we would play Risk... Stuff. Got. Serious.

I cooked up some pasta for dinner and we watched TV. After we were done, we poured the M&Ms and popcorn into two separate bowls and set up Risk. We played two rounds; I won one, Malcolm won one. By the time I looked at the clock, it was nearly midnight. I had been so caught up in hanging out with Malcolm, I forgot about the party.

Truthfully, I didn't care all that much. I missed Malcolm when he was away, and since he was normally so focused on his school work, we didn't get to spend too much quality time together anymore. It was nice to have some time just for the two of us.

However, as I lay in bed that night drifting off into sleep, I did wonder wether Percy noticed I wasn't there.

**_Percy_**

I sat on the couch, his body turned to face Jason's front door, not taking my eyes off the door for more than ten seconds or so to see if Annabeth was there. I couldn't get her out of my mind. Besides the fact that she was unbelievably beautiful, I liked hanging out with her.

"Yo, earth to Percy! Dude!" Leo yelled.

"I think he's broken," Grover said, waving his hand in front of my face. I blinked, suddenly becoming aware of all my friends staring at me.

"What?" I asked, feeling extremely out of the loop.

"I've been trying to ask you a question for, like, an hour!" Leo exclaimed. "It's your turn to restock the snack bowl," he said, throwing the empty plastic bowl at my head. I caught it easily and groaned.

"Seriously? I didn't get any!" I complained.

"You're the one whose been spacing out," Frank pointed out.

"Yeah, what's up with you anyways?" Leo asked, trying to push Piper off of the armchair they were both sitting on. They had been fighting for the whole seat the entire night.

"Nothing," I shrugged, though I felt my face getting hot. "I'll go get more chips."

"Percy, you're blushing!" Hazel laughed.

"You're so obvious," Piper said, shaking her head, shoving Leo back. "And, I mean Grover-Juniper obvious."

"What do you mean?" Grover asked defensively.

"I mean your crush on Juniper. You are so obvious about it, it's hysterical. Just like how obvious Percy's being," Piper teased. I frowned. I didn't like where this conversation was going.

All eyes were on me now. "So, Percy, who's the girl?" I felt like my face was burning off.

"There isn't one," I said quickly.

"Isn't what?" my redheaded friend, Rachel asked, sitting down on the couch beside me.

"Hey, Red, you finally showed up," Leo said. We all called Rachel "Red" because of her hair, as well as the fact her initials were R.E.D. Rachel Elizabeth Dare. She was wearing a colourful, flowing tank top, streaked with different colours, and dark jeans with rips on the pockets.

"Percy's got a crush," Hazel said, laughing and nudging my foot with hers.

"You do?" Rachel asked, frowning slightly.

"Percy, you have to tell us these things," Leo pestered me.

"I don't have a crush! Okay?" I snapped, exasperated. I got up and walked towards the kitchen to refill the chip bowl. Jason was there, searching through the cupboard.

"Hey," he said, taking a stack of cups and putting them out on the counter. I grabbed a fresh bag of chips from the counter and dumped the contents into the bowl.

"Hey, can you tell your girlfriend I don't have a crush on anyone," I said.

"Piper!" Jason yelled across the room. "Percy doesn't have a crush on anyone!" he screamed. Piper shot him a thumbs up.

"Dude, shut up!" I moaned. Everyone in the house probably heard. Jason smiled like the little disturbance he secretly was underneath the perfect-goody-two-shoes routine.

"So, who do you like?"

"Nobody," I insisted. Jason raised an eyebrow skeptically. I shot him an annoyed look before stalking off.

"Here, chips," I said dropping the bowl in Leo's lap and plopping back down on the couch.

"Look, Percy, it's perfectly normal for a boy of your age to start developing romantic feelings for someone else," Leo said philosophically.

"Thank you, Doctor Phil," I muttered.

"I think it's cute, Percy," Hazel said.

I glanced back at the door and sighed. After twenty minutes in the Burger Palace and a ten minute drive, I couldn't stop thinking Annabeth Chase. But crushes didn't happen that quickly and out of the blue. Did they?

All I knew was I couldn't get her out of my mind.

**So, yeah, it is my belief that Jason is secretly a 'little disturbance' in front of his friends, but in front of parents or teachers or anything, he's really reserved. Also, I think Piper would be really good at reading her friends emotions. Scarily good.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Anyone else see Frozen yet? Anyone else think it was the most amazing thing you've ever seen? (Slight exaggeration there, but it was still pretty darn good).**

**_Annabeth_**

I unlocked my locker and pulled out my history text book and binder. There was still only a few more minutes before my first class started, so I tried to hurry.

"Annabeth!" a voice called. I looked down the hall to see my friend Thalia running down the hallway, her electric blue eyes vivid with excitement. "I made it!" she squealed.

We had known each other since we were pretty young, but I never saw her too often. The important thing to remember about Thalia was how quickly her moods could change. One moment, she would be happy and excited, the next she would be ready to tear you limb from limb. Luckily, I had never been on the receiving side of the latter.

"What?" I asked, feeling extremely confused.

"I made the archery team!" she exclaimed.

"That's awesome! When's your first competition?" I asked.

"I have no idea!" she said joyfully.

"That's really great, Thalia."

"Mr. Brunner said I had natural talent," she beamed, crossing her arms over her chest proudly.

"Speaking of Mr. Brunner, I have english now. He'll chew my head off if I'm late," I said. She nodded understandingly and we said our good-byes before parting.

I walked down the hallway and turned the corner. It looked like I was going to be on time, that is, until I smashed into someone else. A binder and a bunch of loose papers dropped to the ground.

"Sorry," I said in unison with the guy who I had bumped into. I looked up and found myself staring into a pair of sea green eyes that lit up when they met mine.

"Hey! It's you!"

"Guilty," I said. We both dropped down at the same time to pick up his papers, our foreheads smashing into each others.

"Ouch!" I exclaimed.

Percy sat back on the ground. "Sorry... Ow..." he groaned. "You see those kinds of things on TV, but you never think they're actually going to happen. You know, the guy bumps into the cute girl, drops his stuff, and then when they bend down to pick it up SMACK!"

"So, would I be the 'cute girl' in this situation?" I asked, a small smile pulling at the corner of my lips. Percy turned red and laughed nervously.

He switched the topic. "I've gotta go switch some of my classes, but I'll see you later."

"Bye," I said. He walked off down the hall with a laid back stride. I watched him go.

A loud blaring buzzer sounded over the speakers. My initial thought was _Guess I should head to class,_ until I remembered that it wasn't the _five-minute-warning_ bell, it was the _If-you-aren't-in-class-you-have-a-detention_ bell. I swore under my breath and took off down the hall.

I turned the corner sharply and stopped running, knowing if any teacher caught me I'd be held back another five minutes explaining why I had to run in the first place.

When I reached Mr. Brunner's classroom, the door was already shut and the class inside was quiet.

"Crud," I muttered under my breath. I sighed and pulled the door open, stepping inside and closing the door, trying to be as quiet as possible as if I could sneak past Mr. Brunner.

"Annabeth. It's not like you to be late," he said immediately.

"Sorry, Mr. Bruner," I said.

"I am too. Rules are rules. Come back here after school, please," he said. I nodded and walked to my seat in the second row. I sat down and pulled my books out of my bag.

"As I was saying, today you will be put in parters. You will be completing in class assignments together, doing peer editing, and, starting today, a summative assignment for our ancient civilizations unit," he said, pushing his wheel chair over to his desk and picking up his clipboard. Everyone in the class began whispering to each other, asking to be each other partners.

"I will be assigning you your partners," Mr Bruner said, overpowering all the whispers. An audible sigh passed over the class. "Yes, I know, I'm a monster. I hide my extra legs underneath this blanket," he said sarcastically, gesturing to his legs. Mr. Bruner was paralyzed from the waist down, and always had a plaid quilt covering his lower half.

Paralyzed, yes, helpless, not even close. The entire school knew about the archery range he had set up in his front lawn. He was known to be an extremely sharp shooter.

He pushed his wheelchair over to his desk and picked up a clipboard and a large metal mixing bowl.

"There are an uneven number of kids in the class so there will be one group of three," he said. He began reading off a list of names. People snickered at some of the pairs, other times the room went quiet, and some people gave small whoops of excitement.

"And finally, for our group of three, Piper, Leo, and Annabeth," he finished.

"Yes! Beauty Queen, we're gonna kill it!" shouted a voice at the back of the class. I swiveled around in my chair to see Leo Valdez, the curly haired, hispanic boy who sat at the back of the class, doing a strange, dance beside his chair. The girl in the seat in front of him laughed and yelled at him to sit down. She was wearing a white shirt with Super Mario characters all over it.

"Get into your partners and introduce yourselves. You'll be spending a lot of time together," Mr. Brunner said.

I stood up and made my way past everyone else as they shuffled around the room to find their partners. Piper was turned around in her chair facing Leo. When Leo spotted me, he got up from his chair and bowed formally.

"Hello, fair lady. I am Sir Leo."

"More like stable boy," Piper muttered. I sat down at the chair beside Piper.

"I'm Annabeth," I said.

"I'm Piper, and I'm afraid we're stuck with Sir Idiot here," she said, rolling her eyes. I recognized her name, though I had never met her before.

"You know you love me," Leo said, plopping back down in his seat and smiling.

I could tell the two of them were close, which made me less keen on being in their group. I didn't want to be completely disregarded just because I was new. One on one wouldn't be so bad. That way, I wouldn't be put second to the other group member.

"I'm passing around this bowl with the names of different ancient civilizations. These will be your project topics," Mr. Brunner said.

There was a knock at the door. A bunch of girls began giggling and whispering to each other. I leaned over to see who had walked in. It was none other than Percy himself.

"Percy, what are you doing here?" Mr. Brunner asked.

"I had to switch around my schedule, so I'm in this class now instead of tomorrow," he said, holding out a purple slip. Mr. Brunner examined it carefully and attached it to his clipboard.

"Well, that works out well for us. We now have an even number of students. We just have to pull one person from our group of three..." Mr Brunner said, looking down the row at me.

"I will volunteer to work with Percy, though it brings me great pain to leave these two lovely ladies," Leo said solemnly, standing up and raising his hand.

"Annabeth," Mr. Brunner said, paying no attention to Leo. "Come up here for a moment," he said. I got up and walked to the front of the classroom. Percy flashed me a small, quick smile.

"You two are going to be partners."

**Yay! Fun times!**

**Anyways, please review/favourite/follow/share with your friends! It would mean a lot to me!**


	4. Chapter 4

**So, here's a nice fast update, because I wrote a LOT for this story over the past few weeks!**

**_Percy_**

Annabeth and I sat beside each other. I tried to wrap my mind around the fact that I had been paired with Annabeth. After thinking about her for two days straight, there she was.

Annabeth held up the small slip of paper with the topic for our project written across it.

"Ancient Greece," Annabeth said, dropping the paper onto her desk with a small flick of her wrist. She had a faint smile on her lips.

"Is that good?" I asked.

"Very," she answered.

"You will be doing your project on the cultural and religious beliefs of the ancient civilization. Gods, deities, religious landmarks, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera," Mr. Brunner said. "I'm handing out your assignment sheet right now," he said, a stack of paper to each person in the front row for them to pass back.

"Whoa," I said when a copy was passed to me. The outline was three pages long. "This is going to take forever!"

"Not forever, Percy, just two weeks," Mr. Brunner said. "Everything in this package must be included in your project, and you will get extra marks for creativity. Present it well and it could boost your grade an entire ten percent. I'll be doing a check-in next week to see your progress, and-" The lights in the classroom suddenly flickered off and the class broke out in conversation.

"Calm down," Mr. Brunner said, his voice overpowering everyone else. "Everyone stay in your seats," he said.

The class spoke in hushed voices. After ten minutes of waiting in the dark, Mr. Quintus, the principal, walked in. Without him, the school wouldn't run. "Everyone please remain calm. All classes are gathering in the auditorium until we get everything sorted out."

Everyone stood up and grabbed their bags. I was about to leave when I noticed Annabeth struggling to close the zipper on her bag. She sighed and yanked her bag up, causing everything to fall out. I bent down to help her.

"I always seem to be picking up your stuff," I said, holding out her books to her.

"Yeah," she said. "Seems like it." We stood up and followed the last people out of the class and towards the auditorium.

"So, um, I didn't see you at the party Saturday," I said, trying to sound casual. "Were you there?" I asked, not meeting her eye.

"Oh, I couldn't make it. My brother came home from college to surprise us over the long weekend, so I hung out with him," I explained.

"That's too bad," I said. "I mean, not that your brother came home but that you couldn't make it," I stammered.

"Maybe next time," she said, shrugging.

"Yeah..."

"Yo, Percy!" Leo yelled, walking towards us against the crowd.

"Leo, you're going the wrong way," Piper said, following close behind him.

"Annabeth, I'm sure you know Leo and Piper," I said, gesturing to my friends.

"Do you think they'll let us go home if the power doesn't go back on?" Leo asked.

"I hope so," I sighed. I had math next period, and I had forgotten all my work at home. Or, rather, I hadn't actually done it yet.

We all filled into the auditorium. I sat down in between Annabeth and Leo and put my bag under my seat.

Everyone was a buzz with conversation. Leo and Piper were arguing about how they should present their project on Ancient Egypt. I glanced at the door and noticed Grover walking in. I waved to him and motioned to the seat in front of mine. He ducked past people and climbed over the seats to get there.

"Hey, G-man," I said.

"Hey, why weren't you in science today?"

"I switched my schedule," I told him. Grover glanced at Annabeth, then did a double take, his face splitting into a wide smile.

"Annabeth!" he exclaimed. "How goes the first few months of school?" he asked.

"Pretty well, actually," she said. "Thalia's been helping a lot in terms of not getting completely lost."

"It's too bad we're not in any classes together," Grover said.

I frowned, looking between them. "Wait, you two know each other?" Annabeth nodded.

"I've known her longer than I known you," Grover said.

"You did?"

"Yeah," Grover laughed. "We go to summer camp together, with Jason's sister," Grover said.

"Well... I feel out of it," I said.

Grover grinned. "What else is new?" he asked. Annabeth laughed, her eyes lighting up.

"Hey, Annabeth, um... have you seen Luke at all?" Grover asked hesitantly. Annabeth's face fell and her eyes turned stormy. "Sorry, shouldn't have asked. Ignore me." I frowned, wondering what they were talking about.

All of a sudden, Rachel appeared beside my face. Or, rather, her hair, followed by her face. The red fuzzy mass always came before she did. "Percy, where were you? I was stuck with Grover in science," Rachel groaned.

"Hey!" Grover yelled in protest.

"You refused to dissect that frog, so now I'm going to fail because of you," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"It's _wrong_! I don't care if it's for science!" Grover exclaimed.

"It's also for grades," Rachel said, rolling her eyes and leaning back in her chair.

"Attention, everyone," Mr. Quintis's said through the microphone at the front of the room. The rest of the faculty were gathered on the stage in small clumps. The room quieted down almost instantly. "Due to the storm, the power in the neighborhood is down. You are dismissed from classes for the rest of the day," he said. There were loud cheers from the students and everyone stood up and began heading towards the exit.

"Yes!" Leo exclaimed. He and I got up and did a synchronized happy dance. I picked up my bag and turned to ask Annabeth when we should meet to work on the project, only to find she had walked out of the auditorium the other way.

Rachel, Grover, and I walked out into the bustling halls and towards our lockers. All three of ours were side by side. Lucky, right? Not when you bribe the two kids on either side of you to trade by offering them free meals at the Burger Palace.

"I think I'm going to spend the rest of the day taking a nice, long nap," Grover said dreamily. Both Rachel and I looked at him strangely. "What? Naps are beautiful, don't judge," he said.

"Cool. Okay. Sure," Rachel said. "Well, I have to call my driver," she said, taking out her phone.

"Is that _another_ new phone?" I asked in disbelief. I had been stuck with my mom's old flip phone with the cracked screen for almost two years. Rachel nodded.

"My dad just bought it for me the other day. Said it was a better deal or something," she said, waving her hand like it was no big deal, when it was the second new phone she had gotten that school year already.

Despite how close Rachel and I were, even I couldn't deny she was a bit spoiled, whether she realized it or not. She had been born into the life of luxury. She didn't know anything else. However, despite her privilege, she was one of the biggest activists in the school, always helping out with organizing charity fundraisers.

"Well, I'll see you guys later," I said, locking my locker. I waved to my friends and headed out of the building.

I stood under the awning beside the school's entrance, looking up at the relentless stormy sky. The rain had been pounding down for two days on and off. Honestly, if it meant missing school, I didn't mind so much.

I flipped up my hood and started walking home. It was about a ten minute walk to my house, and I didn't even mind the rain that much. I just hoped my homework wouldn't get too ruined in my backpack which was most likely starting to leak through.

I was humming to myself as I walked, a strange habit of mine, when I spotted a familiar orange backpack ahead of me, bouncing slightly with Annabeth's determined walk. I quickened my pace to catch up with her ad duck under her umbrella.

"That is one big umbrella," I remarked. I felt her arm brush up against mine, sending a tingle up my spine.

"Yep," she said, not even phased by my appearance. "Hey, about this project... okay, I'm not going to be modest about this, I've never gotten anything below an A minus, and if you don't actually contribute and we end up with a bad mark, then..." Her voice trailed off and she looked up at me with an _'I don't want to kill you, but I will if I have to'_ sort of look. Hearing that from anyone else I would have thought they were being conceited, but instead I couldn't help but smile.

"Oh shucks, I bet you say that to _all_ your partners," I said. I put one hand over my heart and raised the other one in the air. "I solemnly swear I will work harder on this project than anything ever in my entire life," I said like I was reciting an oath.

Annabeth smiled smugly. "Why thank you."

There was a moment of silence between us where all I could hear was the sound of the rain beating down against the umbrella.

"So, why don't you have your car?" she asked.

"My mom gave me a lift this morning. I was supposed to wait for her to pick me up after school, but I didn't think getting a lift was important enough to call her at work," I explained, shrugging my shoulders.

"What about your dad?" she asked.

"Well, my dad is coming back tomorrow from a business trip, and my step-dad teaches at a school downtown," I said.

Annabeth and I walked together. I persisted in asking her questions, to which answered without meeting my eye or asking any of her own.

"So, why did you switch schools?" I asked her as we passed by the park. Normally, if I was walking, I'd cross through, but I was in no hurry.

"I used to be at this stuffy private school. My mom graduated as an honour student from there, but I hated it. I had to beg her to let me switch," Annabeth said, pushing a strand of curly blonde hair away from her face.

"Why didn't you like it?" I asked.

"Everyone was exactly the same as everyone else, and I just didn't feel like I was like everyone else. Being different is a good thing, I think, but apparently not in their eyes," she said. There was a twinge of bitterness in her voice, so I decided to drop the topic.

We crossed the street, and as we reached the other side, a car horn blared loudly. I whipped my head around in the direction the noise was coming from.

A blue car rolled down the street and slowed beside us. I frowned, confused, as the driver rolled down the window and leaned out. The boy, probably around eighteen or nineteen years old, had blonde hair and, similar to Annabeth, stormy grey eyes.

He looked at Annabeth, then at me, then back at Annabeth. The first words out of his mouth were: "Are you playing hooky?" he asked. Annabeth's face flushed and she scowled at him.

"The power in the school is out," she snapped.

"Likely story."

"Percy, this is my annoying brother, Malcolm. Malcolm, this is my _friend_, Percy," Annabeth said, with a wide, sweeping arm gesture.

"You better be good to my sister," he said darkly, his eyes narrowing as they studied me. I couldn't tell whether he was joking or not.

"Uh, yeah, totally," I said slowly.

"Malcolm, don't you have to leave right about now?" Annabeth asked him sharply.

He smiled. "I get it, I get it. Don't want your big brother crashing your date."

"It's not-we're not-" Annabeth stammered. I felt the heat rise to my face. Malcolm smiled devilishly.

"Love you. Talk later," he said before driving away, the tires of his car sending a small spray in their wake.

"Sorry about him," Annabeth sighed. "He can be so annoying sometimes."

"Hah, don't worry, he's just being a regular protective brother," I said, shrugging.

I almost expected her to ask if I had any siblings, so when she didn't, I told her.

"I have a half brother. He's my dad and his ex wife's kid," I told her, picturing Tyson in my mind. Annabeth nodded and we kept walking.

"So, when do you want to start working on this project?" I asked, trying to keep the conversation alive.

"Maybe we can head down to the library tomorrow after school," she suggested.

I smiled. "It's a date."

We reached the corner of Annabeth's street and stopped. I knew we had to go our separate ways, but something in me didn't want to leave her.

"So, I was thinking, maybe I should get your number," I said, trying to sound casual. Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "So we can talk about the project," I added with a grin.

"Okay, give me your phone," she said. I shoved my hand in my pocket only to find my lucky ballpoint pen, the one thing I never allowed myself to lose. I remembered I had left my phone charging on my nightstand. Instead, I held out my pen to Annabeth.

"This is a pen," she said, taking it from me and rolling it in between her fingers.

"Yeah, I see that," I laughed. "I forgot my phone at home, so just write it on my hand." I took the umbrella from her and held out my hand to her. She held my wrist and wrote her number on the back of my hand, with the initials 'A.C.' above it. She exchanged my pen for her umbrella and met my eyes with her incredible grey ones.

"I'll see you later," I said.

"Bye," she said, smiling slightly. We lingered there a moment before we turned our separate ways.

I shoved my hands in my pockets to keep the ink from running and walked home with a bounce in my step, not caring I was getting completely drenched. Before I knew it, I was humming _Singin' in the Rain_ loudly, not caring if anyone heard.


	5. Chapter 5

**Yay! An update! I hope you guys are enjoying this story, and there will be another update following immediately. Yay!**

**_Annabeth_**

I walked the rest of the way home, trying not to think about how Percy lifted my spirits. I told myself it was nothing, that he was just a friendly guy, but I couldn't shake the oddly familiar feeling in my stomach.

As I made my way up the front steps of my house, I dug through my pocket for my keys. I cursed under my breath when I didn't find them and checked my backpack. Luckily, I found them. Once I was inside, I kicked the door closed behind me.

"Hello?" my mom called from her office.

"Power went out at school. We got let out early," I called back briefly, turning my head towards her office door that stood ajar just to the left of the foyer. I shut my umbrella and leaned it beside the door, then took off my rain coat and hung it in the cupboard.

"I know, I got an email. What took so long?" she asked. I walked into her office and leaned on the door frame, frowning.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, it normally takes you, what, seven minutes to walk home? I got the email twenty minutes ago. So, three minutes to get out of the school, seven to walk home, then an extra ten minutes. What took you so long?" she asked again.

She looked up at me with inquiring grey eyes. I recognized her expression immediately. She was doing something both Malcolm and I had picked up from her. Analyzing. Deducing. Observing. Taking every detail into account. I tried to hide myself from my mother's scrutinizing gaze.

"I just wasn't in a rush, I guess," I said, shrugging. She raised on of her sharp dark eyebrows. I held her stare.

"What?" I asked obliviously.

"Nothing," she said lightly. My mom discarded her suspicious glance and looked back down at the papers on his desk. And just like that she went back to work.

I walked down the stairs to the basement where my room was and shut the door behind me.

"Don't slam the door!" I heard my mom yell, her voice sounding muffled through the door.

"Sorry!" I yelled back.

I dropped my backpack on the floor and flopped down on my bed, closing my eyes, thinking about the real reason I had come home late.

Percy.

With Percy, I felt in no rush to get home and out of the rain. We walked much slower than I normally would have, yet I didn't find myself wanting to speed ahead. We didn't try to rush to catch the street light before they changed, like I normally would have. We didn't cut through the park like I was used to doing. It was like time slowed down.

I shook my head. Why couldn't I stop thinking about him? About the time we spent together. About the way his eyes lit up when he laughed.

_Stop it_, I told myself harshly. _You're just going to get yourself hurt_. _Again._

**_Percy_**

I had an entire day to kill, a pretty girl's phone number on my hand, and the power had come back on. I spent my day in the following ways:

Playing Super Mario Sunshine.

Trying to read Annabeth's number which was difficult due to my dyslexia.

Snacking.

Practicing what I would say to her when I called.

Attempting to work on my math homework.

Complaining to myself about my math homework.

Calling Grover and complaining to him about my math homework, interrupting his nap.

Eating lunch.

Trying math again.

Watching TV.

Playing _Snake_ on my phone.

Dialing Annabeth's number.

Having a very confused French woman answer.

Explaining I had the wrong number.

Watching more TV.

By the time Paul came home at 4:30, I was a heap lying on the couch, unmoving and barely responsive.

"You teenagers," he said, shaking his head and standing in between me and the TV. "You're always glued to some sort of screen."

"Fun day at school?" I mumbled.

"No better than any other. What about you?" Paul asked, sitting on the other side of the couch.

"Power went out at school. They sent us home after first period," I said.

"Well, your mom should be home soon. What do you want for dinner?" he asked.

"I have to work the late shift tonight, so I'll just get a burger," I said. Paul laughed.

"I miss being able to eat burgers and not having to worry about my cholesterol," Paul sighed. Before I could complain about hearing his old person angst, the door opened and my mom let out an enormous sigh.

I looked over my shoulder to see her dropping a large bag and the dog's leash. Mrs. O'Leary, our giant, fluffy, black Newfoundlander dog bounded down the hall towards me. She jumped over the back of the couch and pounded her front paws on my chest, making me wince in pain. She didn't mean to be so aggressive, but she was too big and too affectionate for her own good. Well, that is, if she decided to like you, which was actually pretty rare with her. It had taken weeks before she warmed up to Paul.

"Down, Mrs. O'Leary," I told her. She rolled onto her back on top of my legs. I scratched her belly and behind her ears. "Good girl/"

"I swear, that dog will be the death of me," my mom huffed.

"What happened?"

"She did her _business_ in front of the door to the shop," my mom said. Both Paul and I winced. Mom's candy shop was her pride and joy. She had built it from the ground up, and hated whenever someone, something, or some dog, did it an injustice.

"Remind me again how you convinced me into buying her?" Mom asked.

I made a pouty face and lifted Mrs. O'Leary's massive head beside mine. "Please, Mom, please? I promise I'll walk her and clean up her business and you won't have to get me any birthday present or Christmas present this year. Please? How can you say no to this face?"

"Right," she sighed. "But you forgot one thing. 'I promise I'll train her to stay in her crate and be quit when people leave the house so when we leave her alone we don't get calls from the police saying our dog is disrupting the peace'." I laughed. Mrs. O'Leary's bark was _definitely_ mightier than her bite, and I had no doubt her bite was pretty ferocious too.

"Speaking of which, Percy, you're not going anywhere tonight, are you? Paul and I have dinner reservations," she said, leaning over to kiss Paul on the cheek before going into the kitchen to get a glass of water.

"We do?" Paul wondered.

"I'm working," I told her, scratching Mrs. O'Leary under the chin. I heard her sigh from the kitchen.

"Well, it's too late to call Silena..." she trailed off. Silena lived across the street from me and was a year older, also at Goode. She loved Mrs. O'Leary, and was often happy to dog sit as long as we called the day before.

"Maybe Mr. D will let me keep her in his office," I said. "I'll go early and ask him," he said. "If not, I'll just tie her up outside."

My shift started at 5:30, so I had some time to kill. I went up to my room, Mrs. O'Leary trailing behind me, to try for the umpteenth time that day to finish my homework. Finally, after hard procrastination and light focus, I finished. I glanced up at the clock and cursed under my breath. It was already 5:20.

"Come on, girl," I said. Mrs. O'Leary picked her head up and watched me as I grabbed my work shirt and exchanged it for the one I was wearing. She jumped off of my bed and bounded ahead of me down the stairs, waiting by the door for me to catch up.

"Bye!" I called, clipping Mrs. O'Leary's leash to her collar and grabbing my car keys from the small bowl we kept by the door. We walked down the street to where I had parked my car and jumped in. I started up the car and the window on the passenger side window rolled down. Though Mom and Paul were convinced it was just luck that Mrs. O'Leary often stepped on the button to open the window, I knew she had figured it out herself. She stuck her head out of the window as I started up the car and drove away.


	6. Chapter 6

**_Percy_**

I reached the Burger Palace in record time, but for Mr. D, it wasn't fast enough.

"What took you so long, Jordan?" he asked, waiting by the door in his grease stained apron. He glanced down at Mrs. O'Leary and scowled. "Why'd you bring the beast?" Mrs. O'Leary growled.

"I can't leave her at home because she has a bit of separation anxiety. I'm just going to tie her up outside," I said.

"As long as it keeps its... business to itself," Mr. D said.

I tied Mrs. O'Leary's leash to the bench pressed up against the window to the Burger Palace. Luckily, the wide overhang outside sheltered her from the rain.

"Okay, girl, I'll just be inside," I said, petting her head. I went inside and crossed my fingers that she wouldn't start barking. She didn't, so I let my shoulders relax.

I took my position behind the counter and started taking order after order. It was painstakingly boring.

About half an hour into my shift, Piper, Jason, Leo, Hazel, Frank, and Grover walked in the door.

"You guys have to help me," I said, leaning over the counter towards them. "I am _so_ _bored_."

"Cool. I'll take a number two with fries instead of onion rings," Leo said unsympathetically, looking up at the menu and pursing his lips. I sighed and punched in his order.

"That all?" I asked him. He nodded and moved aside for everyone else to take their orders.

"So, what's up?" I asked.

"We're going to watch a movie at Piper's," Grover said.

"Stop by when you're done your shift. We're going all out Mission Impossible," Piper said, staying by the register while everyone else moved ahead to wait for their meals.

"Maybe. Can Mrs. O'Leary come?" I asked, glancing out the window at the giant fluff ball who was staring at me through the window.

"Sure, as long as she-"

"Keeps her business to herself, got it," I laughed.

A thought suddenly occurred to me. "Hey, where's Rachel?" I asked. Piper raised an eyebrow.

"Percy, you know she only hangs out with us when you're around," she said. I tilted my head to the side, confused. "What, you really don't see that?" I shook my head. Piper laughed and walked over beside Jason to wait for her food as well. I took the next order.

"Pete!" Mr. D bellowed form the kitchen. I walked over to the window.

"What?" I asked, not even bothering to correct him.

"If Gus comes in, tell him he's late and it's coming off of his pay cheque," he said. Gus was Mr. D's assistant chef. He wasn't the most punctual of guys, but was a skilled deep fryer. He had this eerie ability to have eyes on everything that was happening in the kitchen all at once. His full name was really Argus, but with the few words he spoke, he had requested to be called Gus.

"Sure thing," I said tiredly.

When my friends' orders came, I handed them their things. As I held Piper the paper bag with her meal in it, she grabbed my hand and turned it over. She studied it for a second, then gasped.

"Oh my god," she said. "It's Annabeth, isn't it? A.C. Annabeth Chase. Oh my god, I knew it the moment I saw you and her in class. Ha!" she laughed.

"Pipes, you coming?" Jason called from the door as the rest of them filed out.

"Is it her?" Piper asked, holding up her index finger to Jason as if ask for one more minute.

"What?"

"The girl you like, it's Annabeth," she said with more certainty. I felt heat creeping up to my face.

"Piper," I said, exasperated.

"Percy," she answered in an annoyed tone.

"Piper."

"Percy."

We looked at each other intensely. It was a staring match. If I looked away, I admitted it _was_ Annabeth. If she looked away, she would have to drop her assumption.

Her eyes narrowed. "Is. It. Annabeth." she said. It was more of a statement than a question. Finally I couldn't take it anymore. I dropped my gaze.

"Hah! _I knew it!_" Piper exclaimed, a wide smile breaking out on her face.

"Please, Piper, don't tell anyone," I pleaded, grabbing her arm.

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me," she said. I breathed a sigh of relief. "On one condition," she said. I raised my eyebrow. "You actually ask her out. Oh, and you have to come to me for advice." She flashed a smile before walking over to Jason and leaving, her arm around his waist.

"That is totally going to come back to bite me in the butt."

**_Annabeth_**

It didn't hit me that he said "date" until I woke up the next morning from a dream about being forced to wear twelve inch heels while running away from a sludge-breathing dragon (Don't ask).

_It isn't really a date, is it?_ I wondered, replaying Percy's words in my mind as I rolled out of bed and went into the bathroom. I squeezed the last of my toothpaste out onto my vibrant green toothbrush and made a mental note to get some more. I leaned forwards on the ceramic sink and stared at my reflection in the mirror. The night before I had pulled my hair up into a messy bun. Now, it looked like I'd been through a tornado. My eyes looked tired and toothpaste foamed at the corner of my lips. Definitely not date material.

"It's not a date," I told myself out loud. "That's just what you say when you're meeting someone alone. A date. It's an arrangement. An appointment. A meeting," I said feebly, trying to convince myself.

I finished brushing my teeth and walked over to my dresser. I stared into my drawer blankly, contemplating what to wear.

_Just pull something out and put it on_, I told myself. _It's simple logic._

I dug to the bottom of my drawer and found a black, long sleeved shirt. I pulled on a decent pair of jeans that seemed to match well enough and started out the door. Or, at least, I got halfway there.

As I walked past my desk, I caught my reflection on my computer screen and frowned slightly. _My hair._

I found my brush from under the sink in the bathroom and hacked away at the tangled mess furiously. When it finally looked like I hadn't put my hair in a mixing bowl, I stopped. "What are you doing?"

Annabeth Chase didn't care what shirt she wore with what jeans.

Annabeth Chase didn't spend ten minutes trying to brush her hair.

Annabeth Chase didn't refer to herself in third person.

What was happening to me? All of a sudden I cared so much more. Obviously I never went out in public looking like a complete slob, but I had never tried so hard to make sure I looked nice.

Was it because of Percy? Because of the way he had so casually smiled and told me "It's a date"? I slammed my brush down on the counter and rushed out of the room. I had to stop thinking like that. The last thing I needed was some guy mixing up how I thought.

I walked into the kitchen and pulled open the fridge, grabbing the milk.

"Morning, Annabeth," my dad, Frederick, said, looking up form his paper. He was sitting at the small island at the end of the counter across from my mom.

"Morning," I said casually.

"You look nice," my mom said. I stopped. _Crud_,I thought. _She noticed_.

For most girls, a response to that compliment would be "Thanks!" or "That's so nice of you to notice," or maybe "You too." But, like I said before, every detail is accounted for when it came to my mother. She was the motherly equivalent of Sherlock Holmes. Sometimes, I could have sworn she was a mind reader.

"Oh? Thank you," I said, brushing it off and pretending I hadn't put in so much effort. I prepared a hearty breakfast of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and took the last empty seat on the island.

"So, what do you two have planned for the day?" my dad asked.

"I'm going to the library after school to work on a project," I said, resisting the urge to look up at my mom to see the gears in her brain turning.

"Alone?" she asked, as if on cue. I couldn't lie. She'd be able to tell in a second.

"No, with a friend," I said briefly. Though my mom said no more on the subject, I could feel her eyes studying me.

I glanced at the clock. 8:42. I was running late. I ate quickly and put my bowl in the sink.

"I'll see you later," I said.

"Bye, sweetie," my dad said, smiling.

"Bye." As I turned to leave, my mom stopped me.

"Annabeth, why don't I drive you?" she asked. "It's still raining out there, plus I don't want you to be late."

"You don't have to," I said, glancing at the clock. 8:47. "But I could use the ride," I relented. I really didn't want to be late.

My mom pulled up behind the school. "Call me if you need me to pick you up from the library," she said. I smiled.

"Thanks, I will," I told her. I hopped out of the car and slung my bag over my shoulder.

"Hey, Annabeth!" a voice yelled. I turned my head to see Percy walking towards me. He was carrying an umbrella over his head. A smile forced itself onto my face.

"Hey," I said, ducking under the shelter of his umbrella. I caught a glimpse of my mom's car lingering at the curb.

"You didn't forget about our date, did you?" he asked, smiling. There was that word again. _Date_. Why did he have to make it sound like _that_ kind of a date? Suddenly, standing under the same umbrella didn't seem like a harmless action between friends.

"No," I said, my shoulders scrunching up. We walked into the building and he shut his umbrella, shaking the water off of it. "So, I'll meet you by the library?" I said, looking up at him. I was struck at how good he looked.

_Stop it!_ My brain screamed.

"Yeah, I'll see you then," he smiled. He walked backwards a few steps, keeping eye contact with me before turning around and heading off down the hall. I walked up the stairs and grabbed some stuff from my locker quickly before rushing to my class. I made it into my seat just as the bell rang.

I tried to focus, but my mind became easily preoccupied thinking of Percy. I had to stop thinking about him.

**So not as super fast of an update as I said, but here it is!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry I've been away for so long! I'm getting back on the writing train, though, don't worry!**

**To be honest, the reason I've been on mini-hiatus is because I've been working a LOT original story I'm writing. But, I will not forget my fanfics!**

**_Percy_**

I walked down the hall smiling to myself. In just six hours I'd be on a date with Annabeth Chase. I didn't even mind having to sit through math for an hour with Nancy Bobofit practically breathing down my neck.

When lunch rolled around, the excitement had started to wind down a bit, though not by much. I sat at my usual table with Grover, Frank, Hazel, Jason, Piper, and Rachel. As I took a bite into the greasy, yet delicious cafeteria pizza, I heard someone shouting my name. I looked over my shoulder to see Coach Gleeson Hedge walking up to me.

"Swim practice. After school. Three-thirty to five. Mandatory," he said briefly, poking a stubby finger into my chest. I nodded and he turned away. Then, what he had said actually clicked in my brain.

"Wait, coach!" I called, swallowing my pizza, nearly choking. I ran after him. "I can't come today."

"Well, why not?" Coach Hedge asked.

"I, uh, I have to work on a project," I said.

"Do it after," he said as we reached the door.

"Can't I miss just this once? Please?" I begged. "I'll swim extra laps tomorrow. I'll mop the shower room!" Coach recoiled at the mention of the mold ridden stalls.

"Wow, you must really want to work on this project. When's it due?" he asked, finally stopping to look up at me. Yes, he was so short he had to look up to me.

"Two weeks," I said.

"And you can't put it off for one day? You have so much time!" he exclaimed.

"I know, but I told-"

"Wait," he said, holding up his hand. "Do you have a partner on this project?" Coach asked. I nodded. "Is it a girl?" He took my silence as a yes. "Jackson, we have the second biggest meet of the season in a week. You're the captain! The team looks up to you. You can't distract yourself now," he said. "Look, I'm not saying don't go out with her, just don't let it interfere with practice."

"I'm not- I mean we're not- We're just working on a project," I managed to splutter out. Talking with Coach Hedge about my love life wasn't exactly high up on my to-do list.

"Whatever. Just show up to practice," he said, turning and walking down the hall before I could protest any longer

I sighed and walked back into the cafeteria. When I sat down at my table, everyone gave me strange looks.

"What was that about?" Rachel asked.

"Practice after school," I said.

"So?" Grover wondered.

"I was supposed to meet someone to work on a project," I said, choosing my words carefully. Piper's head shot up. Raising her eyebrows, she silently asked, _Annabeth?_

_Yeah_, I told her, my eyes shifting a bit then resting back on her.

"Maybe ask them to meet after practice," Jason suggested. I shrugged. Of course I'd ask Annabeth, but I doubted she wanted to sit around for two hours while I swam laps.

"Oh my god," Grover said suddenly, pulling his beanie cap down over his ears.

"What?" I asked, turning to look behind me.

"Don't look!" Grover hissed. I stopped, but looked across the table at Hazel.

_What is it?_ I mouthed.

_Juniper_, she mouthed back.

Sure enough, in a matter of seconds she appeared from behind me and walked directly over to Grover.

"Hey, Grover. Do you have the notes from last week's meeting?" Juniper asked, brushing a strand of orange hair away from her face. Grover blinked a few times, pulling himself out of his daze.

"Uh, yeah, totally," he said, pulling his bag from under his chair.

Juniper and Grover were co-presidents of the nature club, and Grover, as you may have guessed, had fallen head-over-heels for her. Juniper seemed to like him a lot too, but she was much better at hiding it. Grover, on the other hand, was a bit of a bumbling idiot around her.

Grover handed Juniper a paper from an brown, green, and yellow striped accordion folder and handed it to her.

"Thanks," she said, smiling. Grover grinned back. They both stared each other for a moment before Juniper stiffened up and glanced down at the paper, blushing.

"Um, I'll see you in history," she said.

"Bye," he answered, lowering his head so much it was almost in his sandwich. Juniper walked away and Leo burst out into laughter.

"Dude," he snickered. "You've got it bad."

"It's her eyes. Her big, green, gorgeous eyes. They make me act like a complete idiot," Grover mumbled.

After I finished my pizza, I went out to find Annabeth. I wandered up and down the halls until I finally found her on the third floor talking with another girl. As I got closer to them, I could tell she was talking with none other than Thalia Grace.

**_Annabeth_**

Just as I was putting my lunch away in my locker, Thalia appeared beside me and slapped her hand on the metal, making some girls down the hall yelp with surprise.

"Man up," Thalia called over her shoulder. "I hate that shrieking noise," she added under her breath.

"Anyways, I rented two new movies for after school," she said, leaning against the lockers. "I hope you brought your teddy bear, because it's going to be terrifying."

"Yeah, just like every other one is," I said sarcastically. "Look, I can't come over today, sorry" I told her.

"What do you mean? You're not blowing me off for reading or homework or something, are you?" Thalia asked aggressively.

"I have a project to work on," I told her, shrugging my bag on my shoulder and walking out into the hall.

"Does it have to be today?" she asked. "Who else am I supposed to have scary-movie-Tuesday with? Jason? He'd probably throw up, or... or soil himself or something."

"Sorry, Thalia, I can't bail on this project," I said. To be honest, I wasn't a huge fan of scary-movie-Tuesday, so I was slightly relieved to be free of it. Thalia only ever rented the spirit haunting and ghost type horror movies. To be honest, I liked the real gory ones.

"Fine, but I expect you to be there next week," she grumbled, crossing her arms. We walked over to my locker and I put my things away.

Thalia dropped her arms. Her expression changed so it were a mix between confusion and annoyance.

"Percy," she said.

"What?" I asked quickly. Why did she say his name? Had I said something subconsciously? Had she seen me with him earlier?

"Thalia," a voice acknowledged. I turned to see Percy standing there.

"Hey," I said, still feeling pretty startled.

"Hey, I have to talk to you about the project," he said.

"Wait," Thalia interjected. "You're ditching me for Kelp Head here?" she exclaimed.

"Watch it, Zappy," Percy said condescendingly. Thalia rolled her eyes and I felt as if I were missing something.

"Coach scheduled a last minute mandatory swim practice after school today, and he wouldn't let me out of it, sorry," he said. I felt something inside me deflate. "But, maybe

"Oh, that's fine... uh, what time do you get out?" I asked.

"Five," he said sheepishly.

I paused before replying. "The school library closes at four, but-" I stopped abruptly. A few boys at the end of the hall rounded a corner. They laughed and pushed each other as they went. I felt my throat tightening.

"I have to go," I said quietly, my voice barely raising above a whisper. A frown crossed Percy's face.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Nothing, I just have to go." Without another word, I turned and rushed in the opposite direction, my heart pounding with nerves. I heard Thalia calling my name, but I ignored it and kept moving. I couldn't be there.

I turned the corner and sped down the hall, eager to get away. The last thing I needed was to be seen by him. By Luke Castellan.


End file.
